How to Take Pictures

I just recently figured this out for myself. I have a pretty nice digital camera and I was always trying to get in close and then zoom in too... my pics were always blurry.... But just recently, I got in close, but zoomed all the way OUT with my camera, used the flash and took the pic at an angle to the tank glass... Was the best picture I've ever taken of my fish!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/aknif/100_1085.jpg

I turn out all the other light sources in the room, then use macro mode on my digital camera, with no flash. I only use flash if it's dark in the tank.

I take tank pics the same way I take digital pics of my lit pumpkins: pitch dark in the room, lights on in the tank, no flash, and use a tripod.

Course if I want to take a decent picture of an individual fish or fishes, I'll need to use my Nikkon. The shutter speed on my digital sucks

Roan

Roan Art said:

I take tank pics the same way I take digital pics of my lit pumpkins: pitch dark in the room, lights on in the tank, no flash, and use a tripod.

Course if I want to take a decent picture of an individual fish or fishes, I'll need to use my Nikkon. The shutter speed on my digital sucks

Roan

Click to expand...

Yeah...if you have a digital with a slow shutter speed, like most of them, you really need to turn off the flash and use a tripod to hold the camera steady.

Hi,
In order to capture a pic of your fish that isn't blurry you'll need to have a fairly fast "shutter speed", probably at least 1/30 or 1/60 of a second if he/she is moving around a lot. This means you need a high ISO number (equivalent of fast film) & quite a bit of light in the tank. Or, try to catch your fish while he's 'hovering' in one spot. You could use a flash, but you'll likely end up with highlights on the tank glass, which is distracting. If he's moving, try to pre-focus on the spot he's heading to & click when he gets there, or else the shot will likely be out of focus. A tripod is great for keeping the camera steady, but it's sometimes hard to get close enough to the tank, so you can try gently holding your breath (I'm not kidding!) as you click the shutter to reduce camera movement.

previously i have posted some of these tips in this thread

• Use a tripod, your movement will make the picture come out blurry unless you can shoot at a fast enough shutter speed... and you probably can't unless you're using a flash.
• Turn off all of the lights except for the light in the tank, the other lights will just cause reflections and you won't spook the fish or attract as much interest if you're "hiding" in the dark
• Use higher speed film or bump up the ISO on your digital camera, you'll have to decide if you can live with the noise it creates, but it will help you to use a faster shutter speed. You want a fast shutter speed so your fish don't have as much time to move and blur the shot
• You can try using a larger aperture when you take the shot, shooting at f/4 will produce less depth of field than f/8 but once again it will allow you to increase your shutter speed
• Be patient, once the fish get used to your presence they shouldn't be as frightened. The others will eventually stop begging for food and getting in the way of your shot, if that's the case.
• Try try and try again. If you're using digital then take a TON of pictures, the more you take the more likely you are to have a few successful shots.
• Keep the camera parallel to the glass. If you shoot through the tank at an angle to the glass it will create some distortion. This becomes painfully evident if you ever try shooting your tank with a long macro lens. In the case of a bowfront it will be harder to get the camera parallel but just try your best, the distortion isn't as noticeable with regular/wide angle lenses
• try some tricks to get your fish to hold still, maybe you could turn out the lights for a few minutes until they stop moving... focus on the fish and turn the lights on, if they are the kind that take a minute or so to become active then you'll increase your chances of getting a shot without as much blur
• if your tank has high lighting it will make your job easier, the brighter light will allow you to use a faster shutter speed

Also keep in mind that shutter speed is not so much a function of the camera as it is a function of the lens. It is true that you can increase your shutter speed somewhat in a digital camera by increasing the ISO, but ultimately it is the maximum aperture of the lens that is the limiting factor. Most consumer level cameras do not have fixed apertures, therefor your maximum aperture will fluctuate depending on the focal length of the lens.

Look on or near the front of your lens and see if it has any numbers on it. It may look something like "7.8-23.4mm 1: 2.8-4.9" These numbers tell you first, the minimum and maximum focal length of the lens, and second the maximum possible aperture on each end of the range. Therefor if you are "zoomed out" at 7.8mm, you will be able to open the lens up to f/2.8 and achieve a faster shutter speed than you can at 23.4mm, where the maximum aperture is f/4.9. In this case the difference could mean an increase of 1-2 stops on the shutter speed.

Rules about shutter speed are generally given to reduce or eliminate the amount of vibrations/movement that a persons body/arms may introduce into the picture. If you are shooting from a tripod and the camera is static, the necessary shutter speed pretty much only increases or decreases with the speed at which the fish is moving. If the fish is swimming at even a slow speed you may have very little success if shutter speeds are below 1/60 of a second.

An additional technique that one may try, if you just can't catch the fish setting still, is to try and pan he camera along with the fish as it is moving. This may result in a more blurry background but, if done properly, can help to keep the subject more sharp.

Yah, what he said

Thanks for taking the time to repost that information and providing the link to the other thread.

Roan